Brick-machine



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AM, PHOT0- L1THO. C0. N.Y. (OSBORN E'S PROCESS) frame A.

UNITED STAIRS PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES HOTOHKISS, OF YELLO\V SPRINGS, OHIO.

BRICK-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 29,171, dated July 17, 1860; Ressued December 5, 1865, No. 2,121.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES Ho'rcHKIss, of Yellow Springs, in the county of Greene and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Brick and rIile Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, makingl part of this specification.

Figure l, being a plan of the machine; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3, a vertical section thereof, in the plane indicated by the line m Fig. l; Fig. 4, a plan of one of the mold followers, or plungers,

detached; Fig. 5, a bottom view of the same Fig. 6, a section of the same, in the plane indicated by the line g/ y, Fig. 5.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

The parts are all mounted in a suitable Centrally in this frame,near the bottom, is a horizontal lmoldwheel C, one edge of which revolves beneath a feeding hopper, or receptacle, B, so that the concentric molds a, c, are brought successively beneath the center of said feeding hopper.

The power for driving the whole machine, is applied, as at the winch I), to a vertical shaft N, in the center of the cylindrical feeding hopper B, its lower end being supported in a cross-bearing, or step, Q.. The motion is transferred to the shaft D, of the moldwheel, by cog-wheels r, s, or their equivalents. The clay having been prepared and placed in the feeding hopper B, is forced down into the molds uniformly and with strong pressure by the following improved arrangement On the shaft N, near the bottom of the feeding hopper, are secured two spiral wings I, I, each covering one-half of the circular space, and being situated opposite to the other, as represented, so that there will be space between their edges to admit the downward passage of the clay. These spiral wings revolve in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, so that their wedge action tends strongly to force the clay downward. But I lind that these wings alone, are not suflicient to give the requisite pressure to make the best bricks and tiles, and, at the same time, to feed down the clay as fastl as may be desirable, on account of the small space between them for the transmission of the clay. In order, therefore, to

make the feeding action fully effective, I locate another spiral wing I-I, in the feeding hopper, above the wings I, I, and give it a motion in the opposite direction, (its inclination, at the same time, being set opposite, so as to force downward,) by gearing from the shaft D, with the cog-wheels It, u, v, to the hollow shaft O, which turns around the shaft N, and on which the said spiral wing H, is secured. This wing is single, and covers only about half the interior space of the receptacle B, so that the clay is freely transmitted from above, to the space below. I usually give it a somewhat greater velocity than is given to the double spiral wings I, I, below; but this is not essential. The combined act-ion of this wing, and the double wings below, not only transmits the clay as fast as desired, but produces the desired degree of pressure, and a more regular pressure and feeding down of the clay. v

Below the spiral wings I, I, there are, in the bottom of the receptacle, inclined planes m, m, which terminate in an aperture Z, through the strike-plate Gr, of the proper size and shape for filling the molds a, c, in the mold-wheel beneath, and thus direct the clay, with even and constant pressure, into said molds.

The mold-wheel C, has its molds a, c, ar-

rangd concentrically, near its periphery, and is of a proper size to admit a convenient number of said molds. It turns in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2. The depth, or thickness, of its rim, wherein the molds are formed, is suflicient, not only for the depth of the molds themselves, but to contain the movable bottoms, followers, or plungers E, E, as seen most clearly in Fig. 3. The followers are respectively provided with supporting friction-rollers 7L, L, which rest and turn upon circular, conc-entric tracks F, F. The rollers it, L, are somewhat conical, as shown, the larger end being outward, and the degree of conicalness being just suflicient to make th'e outer end travel so much faster than the inner end, as to keep the areas of the rollers in continual, radial positions, without sliding on the tracks. The outer track is just enough lower than the inner track to keep the followers E, E, level. The tracks beneath the feeding hopper or receptacle B, are of the proper molds a, a, just sufficient to give the desired thickness to the bricks, or tiles, as shown at the right-hand side, in Fig. 8. Then, as the mold-wheel moves around, and after the tops of the bricks or tiles are smoothed, by the strike G, the tracks F, F, rise, by inclined planes, as shown at c, Fig. 2, to such an eX- tent, as to lift the upper surfaces of the followers, E, E, up just even with the upper surface of the mold-wheel, whereby the bricks are entirely raised out of their molds. A little farther around, just over the moldwheel, there is located an endless belt M, in a posit-ion substantially as shown in Fig. l, or so that its outward motion will be nearly radial across the path of the motion of the molds a, a. The belt turns around two pulleys p, and 0,' and the proper motion is communicated to it, generally, by a band passing from a pulley z', on the shaft D, to a pulley n, on the shaft K, of the pulley 79. From the outer surface of the endless belt M, project plates, or hands, b, b, nearly at right-angles thereto, and at such distances apart, in relation to the motion of the belt, and of the mold-wheel, as to cause each one in succession, to strike respectively each brick in succession, and shove it outward, olf of the mold-wheel, upon an endless apron L, (shown in red lines,) or an equivalent device for carrying the bricks away.

The followers E, E, are pierced with fine vent holes d, 0l, as seen in Figs. 5, and 6; and over the upper surface of each follower is laid a piece of cloth g, (Figs. t and 6,) such as Canton flannel, covering the whole follower. This cloth may be secured on the follower, if of metal, by nails f, f, driven into wooden plugs in apertures of the follower, provided for the purpose. The principal object of this cloth and the perforations below is to allow the free escape of the air, in filling the molds, so that not only are the molds more readily filled, but smoother and better bricks are formed. The bricks are also more easily separated fro-1n the followers thereby.

lVhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is*

The combination and arrangement of the single spiral wing I-I, and the double spiral wings I, I, turning in opposite directions, and both producing a downward action, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein specified.

In witness that the above is a true specification of my improved brick machine, I hereunto set my hand this 7 day of January,

JAMES HOTCHKISS. Witnesses E. P. H. CArRoN, A. O. LYNN. 

